


Life-changing Field Trips with Loki

by Norickayer



Series: Postcards from Elsewhere: A Collection of Young Avengers one-shots [10]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Humor, Loki is sometimes a girl and never ever a guy, for once a ya fic where billy is not the main character, no plot really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 13:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4061686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Norickayer/pseuds/Norickayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team Avatar barely escaped from Ba Sing Se intact, thanks to the help of a mysterious musician they found under Lake Laogai.  America has barely a month left to master two elements and defeat Fire Lord Odin when a familiar figure walks right into their camp.<br/>(scenes from a Young Avengers/Avatar:The Last Airbender fusion)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life-changing Field Trips with Loki

**Author's Note:**

> The Young Avengers/Avatar fusion that no one particularly needed. Inspired by my eternal disappointment that we never got to see Loki go from antagonist to awkward friend.

“Hey, Loki here-“

“You’ve got three seconds to clear out before you lose your head,” the Avatar says, and by the way she aims her fist, she isn’t kidding. Loki has seen her shoot boiling water with enough force to punch through stone.

Loki lies very well. Supernaturally well, really. But ze’s never bothered lying to America before. Being sworn to take her down for the glory of the Fire Nation put a damper on their relationship from the beginning.

Teddy half-expects Loki to look hurt, or frustrated, or even confused that zir ploy didn’t work. Instead, the guileless smile stays firmly entrenched on zir face.

“-and as unlikely as it may seem, I’m here to help,” Loki finishes, heedless to the danger.

Team Avatar trades dubious glances. This is incredibly unusual for Loki, even for a trick.

And…although zir attitude is completely different now, America can’t help but compare this to another moment, months ago now. Of a quiet, serious Loki who used every trick at zir disposal to sneak into Doom’s stronghold to free her from captivity.

Loki doesn’t do anything that isn’t to zir own advantage, it’s true. But sometimes they can be to her advantage, too.

The two factions stare at one another for several long moments. Loki keeps zir hands raised, a pleasant smile on zir face.

Eventually, America gives up and lowers her fists.

“Seriously?” Kate asks. Her tone isn’t unfriendly, but her hand creeps toward her quiver all the same.

“For reals!” Loki chirps.

-

It takes two more days and a near-death experience for Loki to join their group, but even then the team has concerns. Ze had, after all, only saved them from a danger of zir own making.

“Who among us hasn’t?” David asks.

Tommy very carefully does not make eye contact.

-

“Wait, the brunet twin is a fire bender?” Loki demands, staring at the campfire Billy just lit. Without flint or matches.

“Not really,” Tommy answers with a sly grin. “He’s mostly just a fire _hazard_.”

“He hasn’t been trained?” Loki asks, directing the question at the entire campsite.

The rest of the team ignores zir.

Billy shrugs, uncomfortable.

And well, Loki may not be evil anymore, but ze’s still a member of Fire Nation Royalty, and ze can’t just let that stand.

-

“You want to take a detour.”

“Yes.”

“With Billy.”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

“Yes,” Loki answers brightly, as if there was no possibility that zir plans might be sinister. As if ze wasn’t chasing the team across continents this time last year, throwing fire balls at America’s head until she learned how to use her airbending to throw them back.

“Absolutely not,” Billy answers. “I wouldn’t go on a food run with you, let alone a road trip.”

“Oh come on!” Loki argues, “I’m _very_ impressive, but you don’t really think I could overpower both you _and_ the Avatar?”

“What about me?” America asks, looking up from her meditation.

“Yeah, what about her?” Kate asks.

Loki looks from one hostile face to the other.

“Well… America needs to learn firebending so she can defeat Odin and end the war, yes? And Billy needs to learn firebending so he’ll stop accidentally setting fire to his bedroll. It seems obvious we should kill two birds with one stone.”

“Oh,” says Billy. And then, in an attempt to save face, or to wipe that smirk off of Loki’s face, “I still don’t trust you.”

“Noted.”

-

“You’ve been awfully quiet about our new pet firebender,” David mentions the morning after the trio leaves.

Teddy continues what he’s doing, comforting himself in the daily rituals of breaking down his tent. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts, and replies,

“I guess I don’t have much to say. Some part of me wants to believe zir. I want Loki to be sincere, in a way. I’d love for it to be that easy to make peace with the Fire Nation. I’s like zir to stop fighting us. But I know you’re all probably right, that this is a trick.”

“So you stay quiet because you don’t want to support Loki?” David asks gently.

“I stayed quiet because I don’t want to undermine Billy and America,” Teddy corrects.

David mulls that over, slotting it into place among his other observations.

Their conversation moves on to other things.

-

“So how much you wanna bet they come back with a deep-fried Loki?” Tommy asks, leaning over Noh-Varr’s shoulder. Usually the older boy is much too tall for this, except that Noh-Varr is sitting and Tommy is standing.

Noh sets his hand-carved flute down by his side and turns his attention to Tommy.

“Then we’d have to find another fire bending teacher,” Noh-Varr says, as if the answer is obvious.

Tommy blinks, and gives the nomad an odd look. “That’s-“ Tommy begins. “It wasn’t-“

“Don’t let his attitude get to you, he’s faking it,” Kate calls from across the fire pit.

Tommy tilts his head at Noh.

The older boy quirks a smile. “My faking it is total,” he admits.

-

Billy, America, and Loki return the next day sweaty, slightly scorched, and with an easy comradery that makes David suspicious and Tommy slightly jealous.

Loki makes a crack about Billy’s hair, and when America responds by playfully punching zir shoulder, Tommy knows everything is about to change.

-

 

“You’re a kid, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt,” Kate tells Loki one morning as they sneak into town for supplies. They’re camped just outside of a quiet Earth Kingdom village, and usually Kate would prefer to leave Loki at camp. But Loki has been spending an awful lot of time with Billy, and Tommy is getting that look in his eyes- like he thinks they’re going to ditch him somewhere. Kate figures Billy can use this opportunity to set his brother straight.

So here they are. Kate, Noh-Varr, and Loki. Hiking down the dirt road to replenish their supply of rice and salt.

“I’m not _that_ young,” Loki bristles.

“Shut up, I’m giving you leeway here. Don’t waste it.”

Loki harrumphs, but doesn’t argue further.

“-anyway, you’re a kid, and I remember what I was like at your age.” Kate’s voice softens, but Loki doesn’t dare look up at her face, “and I remember how it felt when I realized just who my dad was.”

She pauses, and Loki holds zir breath.

“We are at war,” Noh-Varr says, breaking the silence. “Not many people can afford to give second chances. Don’t waste this.”

Loki thinks this over for several minutes. The silence and tact ze exhibits would seem uncharacteristic, if Kate hadn’t known Loki before. This solemn, pensive figure has more in common with the aloof, mocking Prince of the Fire Nation than the carefree, silly kid ze’s become.

“I’m just as old as America,” Loki says eventually, and it says something about Kate that the rebellion in zir tone is endearing to her rather than annoying.

“And I wish she had the chance to be a kid, I really do,” Kate responds. “No part of this is fair.”

Loki nods. In this, they can agree.

-


End file.
